Furnace with thermostatic control of convection mediums



March 22, 1949. J. P. DRESEN 2,

FURNACE WITH THERMOSTATIC CONTROL OF CONVECTION MEDIUMS Filed Sept. 27, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

Patented Mar. 22, 1949 FURNACE wI'rI-r'riipRMosTA'rro CONTROL OF CONVECTION MEDIUMS James, Dresen, Denver, 0010., assignor to The Rocky Mountain Gas, Equipment Company, Denver, 6010., a, corporation of Colorado Application September 27, 1945,'Ser ial No. 618,878

3. Claims. 1

This invention relates toimprovements in furnaces for use in heating a circulating convection medium such as airor liquid.

Experience has taught that large buildings and residences can be -mcst satisfactorily heated in sections, that is to; say, a separate heating unit for a certain number of rooms or for each small apartment and for this purpose gas floor furnaces have been used to some extent.

It is an object of thisinvention to produce a furnace of the typethat restsyon a floor or other support and which is constructed with several compartment-s, each of which has a group of heating pipes and means, either gravity or mechanical, for circulating a. convection medium, such as air or liquid about. the pipes, each compartment being connected with, and intended to.

heat a certain apartment or group of rooms. Each compartment or independent heating unit is provided with, a thermostatic control that regulates the flow of convection. medium through the compartment and to the apartment with which it is connected.

Another object of this invention is, to. produce a furnace in which the heat, is, transmitted to.

the convection medium by means, of heater pipes.

in which fuel is burned and through, the inside of which hot gases of combustion, flow from. a,

suitable combustion device or burner to an exhaust gas manifold.

Another object of the inventi nisv to produce a furnace having a plurality of separate compartments, each provided with a group of heater pipes, so positioned as. to provide a maximum radiating surface and so related to each other and to the Walls of the compartment, that the air or other convection medium will come into intimate contact with the surfaces of the pipes to as great, an extent as possible.

A further object is to produce a furnace which is divided into a plurality of compartments by means of spaced partitions, and which has a group of heater pipes in each compartment, all,

groups being provided with a separate burner and thermostatic control,

Another object is to produce av furnace having a plurality of compartments, each of which is heated by a group of heater pipes over which a convection. fluid is passed and in which means is provided for controlling the flow of convection fluid in each compartment controlled by a. ther- Inostatic device operating in response to; the tem-. perature of the compartment.

Another object is to produce a furnace. hav-.

ing. parate compartments h ted by separat is not in use.

groups of heater pipes deriving their heat from attained thereby, the furnace forming the subject of this invention will now be described in detail and for this purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawings in which the invention has been illustrated in its preferred form, and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a furnace embodying the invention, parts thereof being broken away to better disclose the construction;

Figure 2 is a section taken on line 2,2, Fi ure 3;

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3'-3, Figure 2-;

Figure 4 is a section taken on line 4, Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a section taken on line -55, Figure 3, and shows, one embodiment of a damper control means;

Figure 6 is a section taken on line 6-'6, Fig"- ure 5.

In the drawing reference numeral 20 designates the sides of the furnace housing, reference numeral 2| the rear Wall, reference numeral '22 the top and reference numeral 23 the front wall thereof. The furnace that has been illustrated and which serves as an example is of the hot air type and in Figure 2 a blower compartment 24 has been shown as positioned adjacent the rear wall of the housing. Positioned within this compartment is a blower 25 of any approved construction. Reference numeral 26 designates filter pads and 2-! designates the. cold air return from the apartment or rooms to be heated. Connected with the rear of the furnace near the top is a combustion gas manifold whose 'rear wall has been designated by reference numeral 28 and whose top wall has been designated by reference numerals 29. The ends have been designated by reference numeral 30. It will be observed from Figure 2 that the exhaust gas manifold is open at the bottom and that it is provided with a deflector plate 3!. Pipe nipples 3'2 and 33 project respectively from the rear Wall and the topv wall of the manifold. A cap 34 is provided for closing whichever of these outlets The gas flue extendin to, a him- 3 hey has been designated by reference numeral 35.

The furnace is provided at the front and near the bottom with a combustion chamber 36 which, in Figure 2, has been shown as formed by a rear wall 31, an inclined wall 38 and a horizontal wall 39. The front wall has been designated by reference numeral 40 and may be a door that can be readily removed so as to give ready access to the burners, which have been designated by reference numeral 4|. The burners are provided with suitable mixers and reference numeral 42 designates a gravity throat mixer of any conventional construction; pressure mixers may be substituted, if desired. Reference numeral 43 designates the manifold gas supply pipe and 44 the automatic valve control mechanism that responds to a thermostat positioned in an apartment heated by the particular burner or burners. A plurality of groups of heater pipes 45 extend from the combustion chamber to the exhaust gas manifold and in Figiue 2 these pipes have been shown as straight and upwardly inclined at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. It is to be understood, of course, that the actual angle shown in the drawing has been selected for con-' venience. The angular relation of the pipes to the furnace is determined by the structural relation of the furnace parts.

The furnace illustrated is divided into three compartments by two partitions P that terminate a short distance below the under surface of top 22, as shown in Figure 2. In each compartment there is a group of heater pipes, each group comprising three pipes arranged in equiangular triangular relation, the center of each pipe being at a vertex of the triangle' This specific arrangement, of course, can be changed and has been used for illustration only.

Positioned beneath each group in each compartment is a damper comprising a plate 46 mounted for rocking movement about trunnions 41 and 48. The trunnions are journaled in bearings in the brackets 49 and 50, respectively. Extending across the furnace above the heater pipes is a supporting bar to the under surface of which has been secured a bimetallic thermoresponsive strip 52. This strip is curved so that when it is subjected to a high temperature, it is upwardly concave, as shown in the drawing. As the temperature decreases, the strip flexes in the opposite direction until it assumes the dotted line position. A connecting rod 53 is pivoted to the free end of the bimetallic strip and has its other end connected by means of a pivot 54 to the outer end of the crank arm 55. Any other suitable form of thermostat may be substituted for the one shown. The relationship of the parts that have just been described are more clearly shown in Figures 5 and 6 to which reference may be had.

The purpose and function of the damper that has just been described is to cut off the circulation of air when the temperature falls below a predetermined value to permit a free flow of air when the temperature is high.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that the furnace is provided with two hotdivision of the convection medium between the,

two conduits, an adjustable damper 51 has been provided. This damper is pivoted at 58 and can be angularly' adjusted by means of a rod 59 that 4 projects through the front wall 60 of the furnace housing and has a handle 6| accessible for adjustment. The opening through which the rod 59 passes may be provided with some friction means that will hold the damper in adjusted position. It is now apparent that the air or other convection medium can be proportioned between the two pipes so as to provide the desired heating for the two rooms or apartments to which the pipes are connected. It will be observed that the pivot 58 is positioned below the top 22 so as to provide a space through which the convection medium may flow. For example, if the registers in the apartment to which the front pipe 56 (Fig. 2) extends should be closed, the convection medium might become too highly heated, but by providing a passage above the damper 51, the hot air can be diverted into the other hot air pipe.

Wall 60 is provided with an opening 62 that is closed by means of a door 63 and the front wall 23 is likewise provided with an opening that is closed by means of the door 64 which swings about the hinges 55. A waterpan 66 is provided in each compartment and is preferably provided with some conventional automatic means for maintaining the water level therein. By opening doors 64 and 63, access can be had to the interior of the furnace for repair, adjustments or for cleaning.

When each compartment is connected with a separate apartment, it is preferable to provide independent automatic controls for the fuel. In the embodiment illustrated, the fuel is supposed to be natural or artificial gas burned in suitable burners. Other forms of fuel may, of course, be burned in the combustion chamber. It is even possible to burn wood or coal by providing suitable grates, etc.

It is now quite common to employ thermostats for regulating and controlling gas, oil and stoker fed coal furnaces and therefore the drawings have not shown such conventional features in detail. In Figure 1 the position of the apartment to be heated, the conduits and the thermostat, have been shown in dotted lines and designated by reference characters A, C and T respectively.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A furnace comprising a housing divided by a plurality of partitions into a number of compartments, a plurality of heater pipes extending through each compartment, the pipes being open at both ends, a combustion chamber adjacent the front and bottom of the housing, an exhaust gas manifold near the top and at the rear of the housing, the pipes being in communication with the combustion chamber and the manifold, means for circulating a convection fluid upwardly through the compartments, a damper positioned in each compartment for controlling the flow of convection medium therethrough, a thermostat positioned in each compartment, an operative means interconnecting the thermostat with the damper for moving the damper towards closed position when the temperature in the chamber falls and towards open position when it rises.

2. A furnace for use in a heating system in' which a single furnace is employed to heat a", plurality of apartments, comprising, a housing having a plurality of spaced groups of heater pipes having one end connected with a chimney and the other positioned adjacent a burner to receive heated gases of combustion therefrom,. partitions separating the groups of pipes, fo'rming separate compartments, two conduits connected with each compartment at a point above the heater pipes, the upper end of the conduits being connected with an apartment to be heated, a conduit extending from the apartment to a point below the heater pipes, a damper in each compartment above the heater pipes, the damper being pivoted at a point between the conduits, means for turning the damper about its point of pivotation to efiect a proportiom'ng of the convection medium between the conduits, means for decreasing the flow of convection medium through each compartment when the temperature of the convection medium therein decreases, comprising a damper, and a thermostat in each compartment, and means for operatively connecting the thermostat and the damper.

3. A furnace for use in a multi-zone heating system, comprising, a housing having spaced parallel partitions dividing it into a plurality of compartments, said housing having a combustion chamber at the front, near the bottom, and a manifold near the rear top for the reception of gases of combustion, a plurality of heater pipes, forming a group, in each compartment, the lower ends of the pipes being in communication with the combustion chamber and the upper ends in communication with the combustion gas manifold, a fuel burner in the combustion chamber for each group of heater pipes, means for circulating a convection medium upwardly through each compartment and about the heater pipes,

a damper positioned in each compartment, underneath each group of heater pipes, and means for opening and closing the damper in accordance with the temperature in the compartment, comprising a thermostat positioned in each compartment, above the heater pipes, and means interconnecting the thermostat and damper, for moving the latter to closed position when the temperature in the compartment falls and to- 10 ward open position when it rises.

JAMES P. DRESEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 17,817 Jones Sept. 30, 1930 387,681 Heaton Aug. 14, 1888 752,002 Shafer Feb. 9, 1904 990,755 Lembke Apr. 25, 1911 1,689,067 Benner Oct. 23, 1928 1,732,061 Moench Oct. 15, 1929 1,834,958 Martin Dec. 8, 1931 1,948,223 Lutz Jan. 9, 1934 2,079,157 De Lin May 4. 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 27,380 Great Britain Dec. 1, 1906 

